


Alone

by Skyclimber



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Angst, Blood, F/M, Fluff, Kidnapping, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 05:31:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18749998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyclimber/pseuds/Skyclimber
Summary: You get kidnapped by the mob and Xiumin and the rest of EXO set out to rescue you





	Alone

               As you were leaving your office after a long day at work, your phone chimed.  You looked at it excitedly, thinking it was Xiumin asking about dinner.

               **Kai:** Can you come meet us at this hotel so we can all go get dinner together?

               An address is attached to the end of the message, and when you check it you see it is only a few blocks away from your building.  You send a quick reply agreeing and asking about Xiumin.

               **Kai:** Ah! He left his phone in your house and just asked me to text you!

               You didn’t bother replying this time, you just smiled as you walked towards the hotel.  Your phone chimed again

               **Kai:** Let me know when you get here and I’ll meet you in the lobby.

               You thought back to the times when you would have been so uncomfortable meeting Jongin alone.  When you first met and started dating Minseok, he was always surrounded by his eight friends and while they were always nice to you it was weird being with them all the time with Minseok.  But time passed, now you’re just as good of friends with them as Xiumin is.  You were in an unexpectedly great mood as the hotel came into view.  You quickly told Kai you were outside and he replied quickly saying he was on his way.

               You walked through the entrance of the building right as Jongin stepped out of an elevator.  He held his hand in the door and waved you over to him with a large smile. His eyes wandered around the lobby for a moment before locking back onto yours as you got close.   Once you were both in the elevator, he pressed the button for the top floor.

               “So, where are we all going of dinner? It is just you and Minseok, or is everyone here?”

               “We haven’t decided, food choices take longer because the gang is back together.”  You smiled widely at getting to see all your friends together again.  “You should tell Xiumin you want fried chicken, because we all know he will listen to you.”  Jongin smiled at you and nudged you with his shoulder as he wiggled his eyebrows.  Fried chicken sounded good.

               The elevator came to a stop and the two of you stepped out into the hall.  The hall was empty.  You made it a few steps down the hall before Kai had you pressed against the wall and whispered in your ear.

               “The man walking towards us has been following you since you left work.” Kai took off his coat and wrapped it around you.  You moved to glance around but his hand on your jaw stopped you, but not before you saw a figure turning the corner from the stair well and walking towards you.  Your blood began drumming in your ears.  Kai continued whispering.  “We need to hide your face, either kiss my neck or I’m kissing yours.”  Your eyes widened and your heart rate spiked.  Kai’s hand reached around your head as the man ambled closer.  He pulled your face into his neck and you saw your red lipstick smear over his skin.  Alarms went off in your head that this was weird and wrong and you shouldn’t be kissing Jongin’s neck.  However, fear won out, knowing Jongin wouldn’t joke about someone following you.  Baekhyun, maybe, but not Kai.  You began pressing gentle kisses around his heated skin. 

              The two of you passed as lovers in a close embrace and the man passed you right by. Kai finally pulled away from you after a long breath.  Your red lipstick was smeared all over his neck and you cringed at how it must look on your face.  Your stomach knotted at thinking how you would explain yourself to Xiumin and the others. 

              Movement over Kai’s shoulder caught your eye, but before you could form a warning, Jongin was being hit over the head with the butt of a gun, he crumbled to the ground without a sound. You were pushed up against the wall by the large man and a hand was pressed over your mouth, cutting off your scream.  The man, keeping his hand firmly over your mouth, pulled you away from the wall and in the direction of the stair well.  Your blood was pounding in your ears and you scrambled against the man’s hand and his weight pulling you backwards.  You threw elbows backwards, kicked legs, dropped your weight, you tried everything and it only resulted with the occasional grunt and your arms being pinned painfully behind your back.  Your body grew more and more fatigued as you continued attempting to resist the wall of a man behind you.  You heard something down the hall that wrenched your heart.  It was Minseok and the boys calling for you.  You heard their curses when they saw Kai laying, you prayed, unconscious on the floor of the hall.  You renewed your resistance and thrashed even harder.  You screamed against the hand over your mouth, praying they would be able to hear you.  Whether it was due to your screaming or just on their own, all eight of their heads turned in your direction and they must have seen you flailing against the man.  They all started yelling and running in your direction, the hammering in your ears and the tears in your eyes kept you from hearing or seeing the looks on their face.  You turned the corner towards the stair well and your line of sight was cut off from them.  You knew your time to resist was coming to an end.  You prepared yourself to make one last hard heave.  You planted your feet into the cheap hotel carpet, as best you could in your heels, and threw your head back into the chin of your assailant.  Pain shot through your whole body at the impact, but the man loosened his grip in pain and you ripped yourself away.  Except then your heel broke and your legs gave out from under you.  You collided with the corner of the door frame and blacked out.

 

* * *

 

              Your body exploded in pain.  You cracked an eye open.  You were laying on the ground in a room small enough to be a broom closet.  There was nothing in the room except for empty shelves.  The walls and floor were blank concrete.  You were folded in on yourself but you rolled over, experimentally stretching out your limbs.  Everything hurt.  Tears ran down your face as your head throbbed, you tried your best to avoid any contact on the spot where you could feel the blood had matted your hair.  Your throat was raw and dry, your right shoulder felt out of place.  You could feel the bruises covering the rest of your body.  Your left ankle was painful just to look at, colored deep blues and purples veering on blacks.  You tried wiggling it but pain like electricity shot up your leg.  You tried your best to stop crying as the sobbing was exaggerating every pain your body held.  You began slowly maneuvering yourself so you could try to stand and make your way to the door.

              You pulled on the shelves to heave yourself to your one good foot.  You wobbled, holding your bad ankle off the ground and balancing against the shelving.  You hopped towards the door, your muscles revolting against every movement.  You clutched you right arm close to your chest to keep it from moving around.  You stopped in front of the door, catching your breath before you pushed your weight against the door, praying it would open.  It didn’t.  You tried pushing, pulling, turning the knob different ways. You tried everything, the door refused to budge.  You sank down to the floor, trying to fight back the tears and screams right at the tip of your tongue.

              You took some deep breaths and held your ear against the door, hoping to hear anything at all.  At first you didn’t hear anything at all.  Then, ever so faintly, you hear some people talking.  You couldn’t make out what they were saying, or how many there but you knew there were people outside your door.  Thoughts started racing through your head.  Would they help you?  Were they the people who kidnapped you?  Why were you followed and kidnapped in the first place?  How long had you been unconscious?  Had Minseok and his friends gone to the police to tell them you were kidnapped?  Was Jongin alright?

              Your vision clouded under your tears and the sobs shook your body to the core.  You curled against your legs and cried.  You couldn’t get out of this room, there was no guarantee anyone knew where you were or would find you.  You wouldn’t see your family again.  You wouldn’t see Xiumin or any of your friends again.  You might not eat or drink anything again unless someone brings you something.  You didn’t know what time or day it was.  All the light you had was from a lightbulb in the center of the ceiling.  You were going to die bruised, broken and all alone.

              You don’t know how long you sat there crying, but eventually the tears stopped and you were left in silence.  You sat there, staring at the floor while your stomach cramped from hunger and your throat itched from thirst. It was weird not knowing how long you had been missing, or even how much time had passed since you last moved.  You stopped feeling the hard concrete under you.  Your pain became an ever present buzz in the back of your head.  Your thoughts floated around your head like they weren’t really yours.  You thought about everything, your friends, family, your past, your future.  You thought about work, your coworkers.  You thought about whether or not they truly liked you or if they simply tolerated you.  You realized it didn’t matter whether they did or didn’t because they probably would never see you again.  You sent prayers to anyone that would listen, for just one chance to make it out of this and maybe you could change some of their opinions of you.  Maybe you would even try to rekindle some friendships that had smoldered out.  Maybe you could show Xiumin you loved him with your whole heart.  Maybe you would find someone else. 

              There were infinite possibilities going through your head and all of them looked better than sitting in this room.  As you kept thinking your mind kept drifting back to Xiumin.  Maybe that was because he was the last thing on your mind before you were taken.  His face kept drifting across your vision.  His black hair was getting long these days.  It really suited his face.  You loved to run your fingers through it.  Your fingers itched to feel his soft skin just one last time.  You heart usually swelled when you thought of his smile, how it could brighten up any room, and the way his eyes crinkled in delight, but now it only broke your heart more.  You could hear the soft tone he only used when you were cuddling in bed after a long day.  You whished you had worn his scarf to work so you could have had some piece of him to help you feel less alone right now. 

              You were snapped out of your thoughts by a commotion outside your door.  There was yelling and loud sounds.  Were those gunshots? You shot to your feet even though you thought you might pass out.  It got really quiet for a minute.  Then there was more yelling, but it was different this time.  You started banging on the door with your hand and tried to yell but your voice was too weak.  The yelling got louder and you heard heavy footsteps.

              The door suddenly started shaking violently.  Someone on the outside was trying to open it.

              “FUCK! It’s jammed! Someone find something to break this knob!”  You heard someone yell.  Then again softer. “Y/N?  Are you in there can you hear me?”

              “YES! Yes, I’m in here! Please get me out!”

              “Y/N, it’s Chanyeol, we are working to get you out so just remain calm, ok!”

              “Oh, my god!” A new wave on tears hit you as you realized people were here to rescue you.  Then you heard something else.

              “Is that where she is?  Why is she still in there? Y/N CAN YOU HEAR ME?” That sounds like Minseok.

              “Minseok, oh God is that you? Yes, I can hear you, please get me out of here!”  You sobbed against the door.  You could hear some arguing on the other side of the door and then Chanyeol’s voice was in your ear again.

              “Y/N, we have to break the door down, I need you to move to the corner of the room farthest away from the door handle, ok. Can you do that?”

              You quickly agree and wobble to the corner before squatting down.  “Ok I’m in the corner!”  You yell.

              “OK, cover your head with your arms and turn your back to the door.”  You follow the directions and not five seconds later the door becomes a drum under whatever the men are beating it with.  Then, without warning the door frame splinters and the door swings violently in towards you.  You cower for a second longer before peering over your shoulder and seeing nine men staring into the doorway.  You could see a crowd of police moving around the rooms behind them.

              You rise as quickly as your beaten body will allow and that seems to break the haze the men are under.  Xiumin is the first to move and he quickly steps into the closet and stands a breath away from you.  His eyes take in the way you hold yourself and his face falls as he sees every scratch and bruise.  His eyes snap back up to yours when you take a step towards him.  His eyes are full on tears and when the first falls, so do yours.  You close the distance and push yourself against him, your face in his neck and your good arm around his back.  His arms are gentle around you, careful not to hurt you.  He settles one hand on the small of your back and the other on the nape of your neck.  You sob against him, your body shaking against his.  He tries to shush you and to calm you but he is crying too and all his words come out jumbled.  His grip got firmer as he pulled you flush against him, until you both calmed down.  He pulled away gently, moving his hands to cup your face, wiping your tears.  There were bags under his eyes and his skin looked dull.  He doesn’t smell dirty, but he isn’t wearing his normal cologne.  He closes his eyes and presses his forehead against yours.

              “We need to get her to a hospital.” A voice, it sounded like Junmyeon, spoke gently from where the eight other men were standing.  Xiumin takes a deep breath before nodding and stepping away from you.  He turns around and kneels before motioning you onto his back. You climbed on gently, trying to shift your body in a way that hurt the least.  When you stopped squirming, Xiumin stood up and with his hands under your legs and yours around his shoulders as he carried you out of the closet.

 

* * *

 

 

              After a week in the hospital for observation on your injuries, you were finally being released with a cast on your left leg and your right arm in a sling.  The bruises were in the first stage of healing, but still ached.  The doctors said your concussion should continue to get better over the next few weeks, and that you needed to avoid excessive strenuous activity, jostling motions or flying.  You didn’t plan on doing any of those things, just lying in your own bed and letting Minseok worry over you.  He barely left your side the whole time you were in the hospital, only leaving to get food, shower, and occasionally sleep at home.  All other times he was in the chair, reading to you, telling you what you missed in your favorite shows, or talking to your family members for you.  He explained that the men who had kidnapped you had been arrested and would be prosecuted.  He avoided talking about that subject, kept saying he would tell you more about it once you were out of the hospital.

              When the nurse came back in with your release papers you were elated to be able to put on your own clothes and go home.  Minseok helped you into the wheelchair before pushing you out to where the rest of the gang was waiting in the car to take you out to dinner.  You exited the elevator to the parking garage where you saw all eight men standing with balloons and flowers in hand.  You laughed and tears filled your eyes.  You eased out of the chair, waving off Minseok when he tried to tell you to sit back down.  You hobbled over to the boys and hugged each of them as best as you could with your sling.  They all hugged you back and said their praises about how well you were recovering and how happy they are that you’re ok.  A few of them sniffled a sad apology about not being able to protect you.  Jongin cried as he held you, and you comforted him saying you were ok and it was ok because he had saved you.  He had gotten out of the hospital a few days before you from his head injury.

              Xiumin was back behind you with the wheelchair and you eased yourself back down as he pushed you the last way to the car.  It wasn’t the first time you had seen the boys since they saved you, but it was the first time seeing them all together.  They chatted with you, telling you about everything that had happened while you were gone and all the mischief they had gotten into.  The ride to the restaurant was full of belly aching laughter, as happy tears stung your eyes as you shook under the weight of your laughter.

              They calmed down slightly at the restaurant but after all the conversation and the comfort food in your belly, staying awake was getting hard.  There was pain beginning to bloom in the back of your head where there were ten stitches from where you hit the door frame.  You were resting heavily against Xiumin, and began zoning out of the conversations.  Xiumin shifted under you and you felt him speak in your ear.  You glanced up from your plate to see everyone was looking at you with a worried expression.  You lifted your head off Xiumin’s shoulder before looking up at him.

              “I’m sorry, I zoned out what did you say?”  his eyebrows knit together and he rubbed your back gently with his hand.

              “I asked if you were ok, you weren’t talking or moving much.  Are you tired?  Do you need to go home?”  You looked around, everyone else was still eating.  You were done only because you hadn’t eaten much.

              “No, I’m ok, everyone is still eating, I don’t want to leave yet.”  You put your head back on his shoulder.  “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”  They all looked at each other uneasily.  You rolled your eyes and sat up before you took a few more bites of your food.  That kicked them back into gear, and the conversation and eating resumed.  Xiumin pulled you back close to him and your head returned to its spot.  Minseok continued eating for a few more minutes but kept giving you worried glances.  Then he set down his utensils.

              “I think I am going to take her home.  We will call a cab, so don’t worry about finishing now.”  That got everyone’s attention.  They all looked between each other before Jongin made to stand up.

              “No, please stay, I don’t want to cut your dinner short!  We will be ok, I promise.”  You spoke and he froze, looking between you and Minseok.  He sat back down and Minseok left some money on the table for your meals before pushing you out of the restaurant.  He held your hand in one hand and called a cab with the other.  He was wearing a dark t-shirt tucked into dark wash jeans with his hair pulled back into a beanie.  You tightened your hold on his hand and he looked down at you.

              “What’s on your mind?”  You shrugged before running your thumb back and forth over his thumb.  You looked at the road in front of you.  He moves in front of you and kneels down.  He gently grips your fingers that stick out of your sling with his free hand.  “You know there is nothing wrong with being tired and wanting to go home.”  You shrug again and nod gently.  He lets go of your right hand and lifts your chin to look at him.  You take a breath before meeting his gaze.  It knots up your stomach.

              “I was having fun.  My head is just starting to hurt and I haven’t eaten that much food in a while.  I didn’t want to make it seem like I didn’t have fun with you all.”

              “Aw, baby, they know you had fun, and they know you appreciate them.  But most of all they want you to get better quickly.  And that means telling me when your head hurts or when you’re too tired to stay at a restaurant.”  A piece of his hair fell out of his beanie, so you reach for it with your good hand and tuck it back into his hat.  He leans his cheek into your palm, his cheek is soft against your skin.  You bask in the sight of him in front of you.  He kisses your wrist before you pull your hand back.  A cab pulls up to the curb. Minseok helps you in before talking the wheelchair and putting it in the trunk.  He makes it back into the car right as you finish telling the driver your address.  He sits up close to your side and pulls your head against his shoulder.  You smile because he is wearing his cologne again and the memories associated with the smell come back to you.  You think of the time he gave you his coat during winter because you were cold even though you had a coat and then he ended up catching a cold.  He didn’t blame you but you felt guilty enough to take care of him until he was well again.  You remember when he fell asleep on one of your couch pillows when you first started dating and you carried that pillow around the house the rest of the day just so you could keep smelling it.  The strongest memory that hits you is the first time you slept over in his bed where the smell was everywhere.  You just wanted to sink into the bed and the only thing that made it better was when he joined you in bed and you fell asleep against him.  You remember waking up completely engulfed in the smell and when you got home later that day you could still smell him on you.

              The car pulling to a stop and Xiumin shifting under you brings you out of your reverie.  He gets out quickly for the wheelchair, looking at you expectantly when you hesitate getting in.  You don’t want to make him keep pushing you around, and you know there is a pair of crutches in the house you can use once you find them.  But you know in the back of your mind Xiumin will scold you for using them with your shoulder hurt.  You pay the cab driver and hop into the chair.  Minseok gives you a mischievous smile before pushing you into the house.  As you are pushed through the rooms going towards the bedroom you look for anything out of place, but everything looks the exact same from when you were last here.  When you get into the bedroom you finally see what the smile was about.  Minseok made a nest for you on the bed.

              While you were in the hospital you had complained almost every day about how uncomfortable it was to sleep with the cast and sling.  The staff tried their best to make you comfortable but after a while you felt too guilty to keep asking, so you just accepted how things were.  Minseok had listened and acted.  Half of the bed was raised with what you assumed to be extra padding, and on top of that were multiple large fluffy pillows for you to rest yourself on or against.  You turned to look at him.

              “Did you do all of this?”  You exclaimed with your mouth still open.  He giggled at your expression.

              “Of course!  You hated that hospital bed, you need to at least like your bed.”  He kissed your lips quickly before kneeling in front of you.  You crawl onto his back and he picks you up and deposits you on the bed.  You sink in and nearly moan at how comfortable it was.  He moves to your dresser and grabs some pajamas for you.  You start untying your shoe and try wiggling out of your leggings, but they get caught on your cast.  Minseok laughs at your position, bent in half but twisted to the side to not jostle your shoulder.  He places your clothes next to you before setting out to pull off your leggings without ripping them.  While he does that you start unstrapping your sling so you can change shirts.

              “Ah! You’re not supposed to do that without me!  You shouldn’t move your shoulder.”  Minseok’s eyes are wide as he abandons the pants half way down your cast to hold your arm in place.

               “Baby, calm down, I’m ok, I wasn’t going to windmill my arm or anything!”  You start laughing at the horrified look on his face.  His terror breaks at your laughter and he laughs with you.  It feels like your pain is washing off and is replaced with just a blanket of his love.  Then the pain is back when you twitch your shoulder.  Minseok’s grip becomes firmer to keep you from moving your shoulder.  You would have to sleep in a special sling for a while to keep your arm still.  He pulls the old shirt off and gently pulls on the new one before reaching under and unclasping your bra for you and removing it.  He helps you pull your arms through and wraps the sling back around you.  He tosses your clothes somewhere close to the hamper.  When you are finally dressed, he moves to his dresser to get his clothes.

              “Don’t go where I can’t see you.”  You say quietly, an uncomfortable nagging in your stomach twists to a bit of fear you can’t place.  Minseok pads back in front of you and throws his t-shirt off his body.  You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding when you see there are no injuries on him.  You make grabby hands at him before he can pull his new shirt on, and he steps up to you.  You pull him in between your legs so you can throw your arm around his waist and rest your head on his tummy.  His stomach flexes under your breath but then relaxes.  His fingers comb through your hair as you lean against him.

              “Babe, are you really ok?  Do you need to go back to the hospital?”  He questions softly.  “There is nothing wrong with not being ready to be home yet.”

              “It’s not that..”  You hesitate.

              “Then what is it?”

              “I was sure I would never see you or my parents or any of the boys ever again.”  His hands freeze, before hesitantly continuing.  “I was so sure I was going to die in that closet.  So, I am going to need a few days of just holding you, because I didn’t do that enough before.  I don’t know if it was just my mind but I forgot what you smelled like, what you felt like, and all I could hold on to was how you sound.  Your laugh and your voice when you mock me, and when you sing in the shower, and when you tell me you love me, and when you cry, and when you get excited about something.  When I heard your voice through that door I almost thought I was hearing things. I understand if this makes you uncomfortable, so just let me know if you want me to stop, but I needed to get that off my chest.  I really love you, you know.”  Minseok steps back and leans down to capture your lips in a gentle kiss.  It is firm and loaded with his emotions, he cups your cheeks and you rest your hand on his neck. He kisses you and kisses you until you can’t think of anything other than him.  He pulls away and rests his forehead against yours, letting out a deep breath.

              “I love you so much.”  He breathes it out like he is saying it to the wind.  “I am so sorry that happened to you.”  He pulls away and sits next to you on the bed.  “I need to tell you something.  You might already know, but I need to tell you anyways.”  You turn fully towards him and you take his hands in yours, gently rubbing along his knuckles.  He takes a deep breath before looking at you.  “I’ve never told you how I met the boys, and I think you deserve that now.”  Your eyebrows knit together but you don’t interrupt.  “When I was younger, I got involved in somethings I shouldn’t have.  I was naïve and didn’t realize what I was doing until an officer named Junmyeon came to me one day and said I was under arrest for aiding and conspiring with the mafia.”  Your eyes shot wide and so many things shoot through your head.  “I explained to him how there was no way it was the mafia and he was the one who realized I was being used.  He told me if I gave him information then I would be off the hook and I would be helping many people.  Of course, after I realized what I had been doing I gave him everything he asked for and the mafia leader was arrested.  After that there were three attempts to kill me for ratting him out.  Junmyeon had me moved into his protection in witness protection.  Him and everyone else have been assigned to protect me.  Obviously, we are more friends now than witness and protectors but that’s why we are always together.  And that why I avoided asking you out for so long, and took things so slow.  We were all worried something may happen, and something did happen.  I fell head over heels in love with you.  And it ate me alive that I couldn’t tell you about my past this whole time but the boys kept telling me to just wait, and that they were close to catching the last of the mafia members and then I would be safe and you would be safe and I would never need to tell you about the mafia.  Then the other day Sehun saw someone suspicious and they rushed me to the safe house, that hotel.  I asked Jongin to get you from work and he saw someone following you.  We don’t know how they knew about you but it is my fault for not being careful enough and putting you in harms way.  Either way, he thought they were just following you to get to me, not trying to get to you to get to me.  _God, I am so sorry,_ this might have been avoided if I had just been honest with you from the start.”  His head falls into your lap and he shakes slightly with tears.  You rub his back and shush his tears.  You had worried for a while that something was off with Minseok and the crew, but then everything relaxed and you forgot about it completely.  You would have never guessed something like this.  It worries you that Minseok has enemies out in the world, but after what happened to you, you want to make sure that never happens to him.  You almost feel hurt that he didn’t tell you, but then you remember he can’t just tell people he is in witness protection.  That could get him killed, even if it is you.  He sniffs and starts talking again.  “I understand if you’re mad at me, I understand if you need some time but just don’t go anywhere until you are healed, please I can’t bare not having you with me while you’re hurt.”  He starts crying again and you keep rubbing his back and shushing him.

              “Sshhh, babe, I’m not going anywhere, I’m not mad or upset, I understand you needed to keep it a secret.  I love you.  I loved you before when I didn’t know and I love you just as much now that I know.  Nothing has changed, I promise.”  You try pushing on his shoulder so he looks at you.  He doesn’t move.  “Minseok.  Minseok, baby, look at me please.”  He sits up and looks at you.  The tears run down his face and you do your best to wipe them away.  “Listen to me right now.  It is not your fault bad people do bad things.  And it is not your fault that bad people did bad things to me.  You didn’t tell them to do what they did.  I saw you in the hallway, you did your best to come for me.  And you did come for me.  You found me.  You saved me.  Who cares you did something bad when you were young and naïve.  You love me now and you wouldn’t have done what you did if you had known better.  Don’t blame yourself for this.  Please.”  He nuzzles his face into your hand, even brings his hand to hold over yours.  “Now, that everything is out in the open, let’s go to sleep.  We will both feel better in the morning.”

 

* * *

 

 

              The next few days were indeed better.  The house was full of laughter and love as Minseok goofed around and teased you for not being able to move around.  He would hit you with a pillow then run away giggling before you could hit him back.  Sometimes he would take your phone or computer and hold it out of your reach until you kissed him however many times he deemed worthy.  Other time he would run behind the couch you were laying on and drop a box of chocolates on you.  You flinched and screamed every time.  Then you would hear him cackling from the room over.  Your favorite times were when you could get him to calm down and just lay with you.  Most of the times he would find a comfortable position and pull you against him.  Although there were times he would come in with a mischievous smile as he lay beside you.  You wouldn’t have time to react before he was tickling you and your sides would hurt from laughter.  This would end in a few ways, you might twitch your shoulder and need some pain medicine and he would spend the rest of the day glued to your side feeling guilty.  Other times you would knock him off with your cast and then tickle him back until tears ran down his face and he was begging you to stop.  But your favorite ending was when he would go easy on you and the cuddle up to you and whisper “I love you” in your ear.

              The boys would stop by about every other day, to check on you and Minseok.  Once they learned Minseok had told you the truth the showed you their badges and got rowdy showing their self defense skills.  That meant throwing each other onto the couch or the bed, once into the tub full of water.  You laughed at how these grown men with such official titles and badges could turn into such children around each other.

              Physical therapy for your shoulder started a few days after you got back home.  On those days, Xiumin would massage your arms, cook dinner, even clean to make home as relaxing as possible.  You cried for joy when you were told you could sleep without the sling, because that meant getting to hug Xiumin in your sleep like you used to.  He might not say anything but you suspected he was happier than you were to fall asleep with your arms around him again.

 

* * *

 

 

              You were ecstatic as you crutched out of the physical therapy center with your arm free from the sling and near full range of motion.  Eight weeks of physical therapy for your shoulder were finally done!  Your heavy boot was an ever present reminder that you still had therapy for your ankle to go through, but you were just happy to have your arm back. Step by step you were gaining your whole body and life back.  Your family had come and visited you and you all cried as you held each other.  You all swore to keep better contact. 

              You walked over to the large van where everyone was waiting to take you out to dinner.  They wanted to celebrate your arm and they kept whispering about a secret.  Xiumin swore up and down that he had no idea what they were talking about.  You hopped into the passenger seat with Xiumin in the driver seat.  He leaned over and kissed your cheek before holding your hand and pulling out of the parking lot.

              “Well?  Let’s see it!”  Chen yelled from the back seat.  You raised your arm straight up and the van erupted with cheering.  You smiled brightly and lowered your arm slowly.  Your therapist was a miracle worker.  When you first got to the center you thought there was no way you would be able to raise your arm like that ever again.  But the therapist and Xiumin worked diligently with you on the exercises so you had full range of motion back.

              Everyone in the van chatted before you pulled up at the restaurant.  You all piled out with Junmyeon at the head.  You were seated quickly, and Junmyeon pulled some papers out of his large coat.  Kyungsoo grabbed them and waved them around excitedly.

              “Stop waving them around and just tell me what they are!”  Xiumin said while laughing.

              “Kim Minseok.”  Junmyeon started slowly and everyone quieted down.  “Along with the people arrested when we found Y/N, we have found and arrested the last members of the Yangs gang.  Once the trials are completed you will officially be released from witness protection!”  The room broke out in cheers while Xiumin and you sat with your mouths open.  Your face broke into a smile as you turned to face him.  He looked at you with wide eyes.  You threw your arms around his neck and the boys patted him on the back.  Junmyeon cleared his throat and everyone quieted back down.  “Now, due to the volatile nature of the Yangs, we won’t be going very far just in case something comes up.”

              “So, you won’t be assigned to another case and need to move away?”  you ask.

              “If there is another case, it will probably still be in the city.  However, most cases don’t last as long and aren’t as severe as Xiumin’s.  Don’t worry, we won’t just disappear.”  Lay smiles at you and it feels like a weight has been lifted off you.

              With that out of the way, the celebrating commences.  There is food everywhere and everyone jokes and enjoys their time together as friends. 

              Together, in a room full of your friends, warm food, and the love of your life, even after a life changing event, it feels like nothing can take you down.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Ya'll thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and that the ending was fluffy enough to make up for the angst! If yall want to keep up with what I'm writing or wanna come talk to me my twitter handle is @skyclimber14


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